The veteran Canadian exec, a fixture on the international festival circuit, will book public and industry programming for the west coast event, replacing Stacey Donen.

Gratton, a fixture on the international festival circuit, will provide film and industry programming for Whistler.

“Already established as a film and filmmaker-friendly festival destination, while still providing accessibility to talent in the ways that Sundance and Cannes did in their earlier days, this is an exciting opportunity to bring my years of programming experience to a festival context,” Gratton said on news of his Whistler appointment.

Gratton has worked as a Canadian industry consultant since 2007 when he stepped down as vp of entertainment specialty channels at then domestic broadcaster Chum Ltd.

He earlier completed executive stints at pay TV services Super Channel and First Choice, and headed up the Ontario Film Development Corp.

Gratton succeeds Donen, who joined Whistler in 2009 as artistic director.

The 12th annual Whistler Film Festival is set to run from November 28 to December 2, 2012.